In a significant development for higher education in Uganda, the Cabinet has approved the allocation of UGX 180 billion in the Financial Year 2025/26 National Budget to support the establishment of the Karamoja Peace And Technology University (KAPATU) Project. This decision was made during a special cabinet meeting held at State House Entebbe on December 16, chaired by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who also serves as the Founding Chancellor of the university. He was joined by Vice President Jessica Alupo, the university’s Deputy Chancellor.
In a letter dated December 18, Bishop Dominic Eibu, the President of the KAPATU Project and Bishop of Kotido Catholic Diocese, expressed his gratitude to President Museveni for his strategic support towards the KAPATU project. The establishment of KAPATU aims to enhance peace and technology in the region, which has long faced challenges related to security and development.
“On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church led by His Holiness Pope Francis; on behalf of the Uganda Episcopal Conference; the Catholic Lawyers Society International; on behalf of the Karamoja Parliamentary Group (KPG), on behalf of the 1.4 million Karamojong people and all the Ateker People in Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and on my own behalf, I feel profoundly honoured and exceedingly humbled to extend to Your Excellency, a message of profound gratitude for your support of UGX 180, 000,000,000 /= (one hundred and eighty billion shillings) in the Uganda national budget for the Financial Year 2025/2026 for the establishment of Karamoja Peace and Technology University (KAPATU) Project.“ reads the letter from Bishop Eibu to President Museveni.
The Cabinet’s approval marks a crucial step towards realizing the vision of KAPATU, promising to bolster educational opportunities and promote peacebuilding in the Karamoja region.